Fingerspelling in vertical columns

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
August 4, 2006

Hello Anny and everyone!
Oh...I did not mean for us to choose one or the other...I meant that  
we can be open-minded towards writing the fingerspelling down, as  
well as write it across..whatever the writer feels fits the movements  
better...for some reason I generally like it down...I am as surprised  
as you are!

For example, if you are really moving your arm from left to right  
while you fingerspell, then I think that should show a movement arrow  
to the side and yes...the fingerspelling would be written from left  
to right in that case...

But ASL, as you know, fingerspells a lot..I will show you the first  
page of credits for Jack and Jill next message, and you will see what  
I mean...and in those cases, if the fingerspelling is not actually  
moving side, but staying in one place generally, and there may be a  
little movement forward, but not side...then it could be placed  
down...I think it is easier because we are reading the columns down  
anyway...and so it is going in the same direction...

So let's be flexible and see how different people choose to write  
it...smile...it will be interesting to watch!

Val ;-)




On Aug 4, 2006, at 3:46 PM, Anne-Claude Prélaz Girod wrote:
> my first thought is.... SignWriting is supposed to write down the  
> movments
> we see... and usually I fingerspell from left to right when ther is  
> movment
> (double letters, ...)... so that would be an argument to keep it  
> written
> horizontally. I know lots of words are fingerspelled in the US...  
> here in
> Switzerland... we only fingerspell when there's no Sign for a  
> specific word,
> or when we talk about a person or a place and give it's name 
> (fingerspelling)
> before giving it's sign's name......  as words are written  
> horizontally I
> would keep it horizontally with Sw too
>
> BUT
>
> I like it vertically very much too and find it really easy to read  
> too!
>
> so... maybe it would be good to have both possibillies... and make it
> possible to chose the one we need!
>
> sorry... that won't really help you make a choice I guess?!?!?
>
> have a nice week-end everyone
>
> Anny
>
>> De : "Valerie Sutton" <signwriting at MAC.COM>
>> Répondre à : sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>> Date : Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:09:55 -0700
>> À : sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
>> Objet : [sw-l] Fingerspelling in vertical columns
>>
>> SignWriting List
>> August 3, 2006
>>
>> I have been experimenting with writing
>> fingerspelling down in vertical
>> columns...it can be written both ways,
>> but sometimes writing fingerspelling
>> left to right makes the vertical columns
>> so wide. So writing fingerspelling in
>> vertical columns helps keep the columns
>> narrower, plus it seems to be easier to
>> read for me... when the rest of the
>> writing is vertical anyway...
>>
>> What do you think? need your
>> feedback...(see attached)
>>
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